Violence
Over the years "Thrill Haven" has seen its share of violence. J unit is considered one of the most dangerous places in Canada's prison system. The most unruly inmates are often housed there. On average, there are 5 inmate murders per year. (source: Corrections Canada)
On the first anniversary of the August 10, 1975 suicide of prisoner Edward Nalon, prisoners at Millhaven refused to work and began a hunger strike for improvements to the prison system. They asserted that their strike was in solidarity with a strike at the British Columbia Penitentiary, and their strike inspired sympathy hunger strikes at Collins Bay and Joycecille.
In May 2009, Millhaven was the site of a riot which lasted less than 24 hours.
On Oct. 12 2010, a correctional officer with a rifle shot a convict who refused orders to stop assaulting another prisoner in an outdoor recreation yard.
On Dec. 7 2010, 120 inmates in the assessment unit refused to return to their cells at the end of a recreation period. They began to barricade themselves in the area and guards fired shotguns and used chemical agents to gain control of the situation.
On Mar. 21 2011, inmate Jordan Trudeau was killed in an altercation. The event took place in the gymnasium area during exercise for "J" Unit (Maximum Security) inmates. Officers deployed chemical agents and fired shots to attempt to gain control of the situation. Trudeau was killed by correctional officers via a shot from a 9mm rifle to stop him from harming other inmates. Two other inmates involved were wounded. The OPP Prison squad investigated the incident, and found CSC staff acted properly.
Convicted murderer of Toronto teen Stephanie Rengel (David Bagshaw, 21) was charged with attempted murder in regards to this (Jordan Trudeau) incident. He is an inmate at Millhaven (MSU) and was involved in the attack on another inmate that forced guards to fire shots. Bagshaw and another inmate (the attackers) were shot to stop them from assaulting a third inmate.
Read more about this topic: Millhaven Institution
Famous quotes containing the word violence:
“The art of living is to function in society without doing violence to one’s own needs or to the needs of others. The art of mothering is to teach the art of living to children.”
—Elaine Heffner (20th century)
“Of course, in the reality of history, the Machiavellian view which glorifies the principle of violence has been able to dominate. Not the compromising conciliatory politics of humaneness, not the Erasmian, but rather the politics of vested power which firmly exploits every opportunity, politics in the sense of the “Principe,” has determined the development of European history ever since.”
—Stefan Zweig (18811942)
“Let not him who is houseless pull down the house of another; but let him labor diligently and build one for himself, thus by example assuring that his own shall be safe from violence when built.”
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)